1. Field
Some example embodiments may relate to robots configured to employ a plurality of tools and/or methods of controlling the same.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, a mechanical apparatus that makes a movement similar to a human motion using an electrical or magnetic action may be referred to as a robot. Robots, such as surgical robots, housekeeper robots, service robots for public places, aerospace remote robots, and dangerous substance handling robots, recently may be used in various fields owing to development of control technology. These robots may perform tasks using a manipulator configured to make a movement closer to an arm or hand's motion based on electrical and/or mechanical mechanisms.
A surgical robot, among various types of robots described above, may include a master device that generates and transmits necessary signals due to a manipulator's (typically a doctor) manipulation and a slave robot that performs manipulations required for surgery on patients in response to signals received from the master device, even though the slave robot may be located far from the master device. In this regard, the master device may perform remote control of operations of the slave robot based on various physical information such as force, position, tactility, temperature, humidity, illuminance, and the like that may be detected by the slave robot.
In general, the slave robot may be installed in an operating room, the master device may be installed in a manipulation room, and the master device and the slave robot may be connected to each other via wired or wireless communication to perform surgery at a distance. The doctor may be in the same room, in a different room, or in a different facility (perhaps located in another country).
Surgical robot systems may provide numerous other advantages, such as potentially improved precision, better ability to monitor the patient, and ability to record the surgical procedure for training, qualification, and evidentiary purposes.
Minimally invasive surgery using an existing surgical robot may be based mainly on multi-port surgery, whereby a plurality of surgical instruments each having a distal end to which an end effector may be attached, may be put into a patient's body through a plurality of incision holes. However, an example of single-port surgery, whereby the plurality of surgical instruments may be put into the patient's body through one incision hole, is recently increasing. Single-port surgery may be several advantages, such as a shorter healing period than in the multi-port surgery and/or less surgical trace than in the multi-port surgery in terms of appearance. However, in the single-port surgery, there may be a possibility that interference between the surgical instruments could occur, and the range of applicable surgeries may be limited due to limitations in workspaces of the surgical instruments.
Although some example embodiments will be described with relation to surgical robots and methods of controlling those robots, those skilled in the art will appreciate that some example embodiments may be applied to other types robots, such as robots not used in the medical field (e.g., aerospace robots, robots for handling hazardous materials, patrol robots, military robots), humanoid robots, or more general purpose systems and/or methods of controlling such systems.